“I won’t write my poem till I’m in my right mind…America why are your libraries full of tears?”
In the aforementioned line in “America” Ginsberg provides an ironic reveal of America as it becomes characterized by chaos, in the form of violence, discrimination, and other components, which breed censorship and repression in attempts to conceal this. Like Whitman, Ginsberg employs a spontaneous form to counter societal attempts towards repression, as well as to unmask America in light of its truths.
Generally, Whitman tends to provide a more idealized America, with at least the promise of transcendence. However, “America,” in particular, enables Ginsberg to converge with Whitman in terms of poems such as “Poem of the Proposed Nakedness.” This poem, which differs from Whitman’s usual depiction of America, proves an ironic reveal like that of Ginsberg’s “America.” When Whitman states that one should “let shadows be furnished with genitals” and “let churches accommodate serpents,” he highlights how an embrace of so-called filth would provide liberation and analysis of America at its core, in terms of its peoples.
While Whitman tends to contain a more idyllic lean, as he advocates open expression and the unfiltered, Ginsberg tends to condemn society in its lack thereof. However, “Poem of The Proposed Nakedness,” in relation to “America,” enables one to see how their ideologies overlap; both writers desire an America void of the capriciousness which seems to pervade it, as seen in Ginsberg’s “refusal” to write. Ginsberg highlights the manner in which one fails to progress as this freedom of expression becomes curtailed. For this reason, both Ginsberg and Whitman become revolutionary yet controversial figures. As in Ginsberg’s obscenity trial, both of these figures stand for An America which combats repression and fearfulness upon its removal.
Both Ginsberg and Whitman feel this “open” America would prove more honest in its presentation of its peoples at their core. Thus, the dirt and grime of America proves necessity in a presentation of it. Acknowledgment of such would permit people to read about the American condition apart from news stories clouded by media representations. Through Ginsberg’s eradication of rigid rhymes schemes, which characterize earlier poetic movements, one develops a sense of the America that could arise. Thus, with the freedom of expression Ginsberg desires, one could understand America on honest terms, such as in Whitman’s catalogs of individuals.
I agree that in Ginsberg’s “America” and Whitman’s “Respondez,” there are clear similarities: both poets address social crisis and seem to be calling for change, both poets present an ironic representation of America and its flaws.
However, Ginsberg seems to align himself with the nation at various points in his poem. Even while speaking directly to and sarcastically criticizing the nation, they are not easily differentiated.
“It occurs to me that I am America. / I am talking to myself again.” I think that by transitioning here from second to first person, Ginsberg evokes the idea that to deal with the issues that exist within America’s social and economic structures, we must look at ourselves.
“When will you take off your clothes?
When will you look at yourself through the grave?”
Ginsberg is speaking to America and himself, but perhaps he is also speaking directly to the reader.
In “Respondez,” Whitman also criticizes the downfalls of America. Like Ginsberg, Whitman uses irony to urge the reader to question American ideals and structures in place. “Let the theory of America be management, caste, comparison! (Say! What other theory would you?)” The word “Let” is extremely powerful in this poem. Every single line begins with let. Let is imperative; it is a command to the reader. This imperative tone is magnified by Whitman’s use of exclamation marks.
The criticism of American policies and habits is not the only similarity between “Respondez” and “America.” In both, the poets call for nakedness. Ginsberg asks America, “When will you take off your clothes?” And Whitman says, “Let us all, without missing one, be exposed in public, naked, monthly, at the peril of our lives!” Both Whitman and Ginsberg seem to be urging their readers to remove the political/social/economic structures that surround them.
Great pair of reflections on the ironic, unhinged “Respondez!” and its call to, as CLaire writes, remove all those impeding structures. There’s a destructiveness in the poem that later poets like Ginsberg and Williams would find refreshing against the cliched image of Whitman as all faith, optimism, and inclusiveness. In this poem, though, he truly does loo at america as though from the grave. In a strange way, Ginsberg’s American ends on a more optimistic note than Whitman’s Respondez! I love that line in which Ginsberg diminutively claims identity with America before turning that core Whitmanian relationship into an insular one (talking to oneself).